A complete guide to sitting in the right posture while working from home

The right sitting posture while working from home

It has been over nine months since the pandemic took a toll on all our lives and changed almost every aspect of our daily schedule. From big multinational companies to local firms, every business institution began to ask their employees to function from home. While initially, the thought of working from home seemed excitingly appealing and like a dream come true, over time, the same idea has made us bitter and a bit worried too. Unlike anything we imagined earlier, work from home has not only disrupted our work-life balance, but also ruined the postures of our body, working us up physically as well as mentally.

That said, due to the lack of a stable workstation and our own ignorance, often sit on our beds or on the floor for long hours, unconscious of how it may impact the structure of our body in the long run and also affect our health and mental well being.

Importance of maintaining a right posture

Often, in our haste to complete our work and make time for our family, we overlook the importance of maintaining the right posture while working from home. We take up a position that is the most comfortable and run a work-marathon in the same posture. This, although comfortable, can and will affect our health in the long run. Sitting and standing with the right alignment can help keep your nerves and blood vessels healthy, supporting your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. It improves blood flow and prevents a person from experiencing neck and back pain.

Ill-effects of bad postures

Bad or poor posture can hind the flow of the blood and can cause varicose veins. It can put a lot of pressure on the spine, muscles and bones, causing severe pain and exhaustion. In addition to that it can cause breathing problems, as improper alignment of the body can restrict optimal breathing.

Types of wrong postures

Majority of the people, while working from home and on the laptop, sit on their beds, as it's warm, comfortable and cozy. However, what most of the people don't realise is the problems it may cause over time. That said, here are some types of wrong postures to avoid while working on your computers or laptops.

- Sitting with your neck slumped forward with your spine bent.

- Sitting in a position that hardly supports the back, especially the lower back.

- Sitting in one position for a long period of time.

- Sitting in a position that causes strain on the neck.

During the initial phase of adhering to a wrong posture, the neuromuscular tissues in your body may be affected. If not taken care, continuous pressure is created inside the spinal cord, which can finally end up causing a slip disc.

Right postures to adopt while working from home

Sitting in the right posture is of utmost importance. From preventing neck or back pain to ensuring good blood circulation in the body, the right position can aid fight many health problems in the future. That said, before you sit down to work for long hours, perform a 30 minutes light workout, which will help compensate for the time you will be sitting down to work.

Also, while working, it is important that you choose to sit at a desk or table, instead of a couch or your bed. Sit upright and keep your head right above your shoulders and hips. Make sure your arms are not too high nor too low. Avoid sitting longer than an hour at a time, taking a break of about 10 minutes in between. 

How often should you take a break?

Avoid sitting on a chair for long hours as it may stiffen up your nerves and muscles, developing pain in your neck, back and spine. Post every hour, take a 5-10 minutes break. Perform a proper stretch or take a round or two of your home compound. 

Other things to keep in mind while working from home

Besides maintaining the right posture, you must take care of other things that are crucial while you're working from home.

Choosing the right chair is extremely important. Get yourself a chair that has a back support. You can use a cushion at the bottom and/or at the back to sit upright. Apart from that, make sure you place your laptop correctly. Your laptop should be placed on a surface, which is parallel to your head. This will support your neck and will avoid straining your neck and spine.

Lastly, there's nothing more comforting than stretching your legs once in a while, after long hours of working. Get up and do some stretches, so as to avoid discomfort and cramps in your legs.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Are you working from home? Here are 10 tips to manage knee pain and back disorders

The COVID 19 pandemic has led to a situation where a majority of people have begun to work from home. In most cases, with domestic help not being available, they have to ‘work at home’ as well as ‘work from home’ and cope with both domestic chores and office work. For homemakers, the lack of domestic help has added to their workload. Among other issues, one complaint that is emerging is an increase in their symptoms and pain for many patients who are restricted to their homes, the most common being back pain and knee pain.

An increase in workload is contributing to this increase in pain. It is important for all members of the family to participate and share domestic chores. If family members are not supportive, then the onus falls on the homemaker who now has to care for a larger number of people at home and spend more standing cooking in the kitchen along with the burden of other household work. If there are only senior citizens living alone, then many elderly patients cannot manage heavy physical work at home, and their pain worsens.

Professionals working from home end up sitting for longer periods of time, which can worsen their pain. The lack of exercise arising from the closure of gyms, parks, walking areas during lockdown has caused muscle weakness and led to many individuals putting on weight.

Here are some 'work at home' tips for those working from home:

1. Avoid sitting for more than 30-60 minutes continuously. Take breaks, walk around and stretch a little.
2. Make a regular schedule for basic stretching exercises at home. Some like to do this early in the morning, some prefer it to be in the evening. Find out what works for you best and fit it in your daily schedule.
3. In the kitchen, avoid bending down while cooking or over the sink while washing dishes as this posture can aggravate back pain.
4.  Keep a footstool to rest one leg, and keep alternating your weight between each leg, so that when you bend, the stretch is taken off the back. Use floor mops, long handle brooms and stand, instead of bending/squatting while mopping the floor or sweeping.
5. Get regular sleep. Good sleep ensures good health and reduces pain levels. 
6. Meditate for some time every day. This helps in two ways - it helps to reduce pain levels, and also helps in coping with stress during these times from the negative messages floating around. 
   

       7. Listen to your body. Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. Do not push yourself when you have chronic pain, because this may worsen your pain levels. 

8. Use cold packs or warm packs for local application. Avoid using very hot bags for a long period, as this can be harmful. Apply these for a few minutes only, and repeat frequently. 

9.Use lumbar belts or walking sticks even while inside the house. This will support the back and take load off the knee. 

10. Most important, do not hesitate to connect with your doctors! Physical distancing is needed, but today technology allows us to connect with doctors virtually on telemedicine. This will help in getting the right advice to help you manage the pain in its early stages and prevent it from worsening.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com. one can see my crochet creations  
https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
https://kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com. for info on knee replacement

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